Monday marks four weeks since a major earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan. More than 10,000 people are still staying at evacuation centers in Ishikawa Prefecture.

Authorities in the prefecture say nearly 490 evacuation centers are housing more than 14,500 people. Worsening sanitary conditions have become a problem. Evacuees are cleaning the shelters to reduce the risk of infectious diseases.

More than 90 people are reportedly living in their cars. Officials want people to tell them where they are staying so they can provide the necessary support.

Residents are also struggling to make ends meet as the quake has severely affected the local economy. Matsuda Tetsuro keeps over 100 cows at his farm in Suzu City.

The quake left one of his four barns unusable. Others still lack running water, making it difficult to look after the animals. Matsuda says a dairy cow producing a lot of milk drinks roughly 100 liters of water every day. He scraped by with spring water, but finally had to give up some 40 cows.

Matsuda says, "I'm so sad to let my cows go. There's nowhere I can go to vent my anger at my hardships. I want everybody to know the situation that farmers are going through. We really need help."

Wajima City was devastated by the quake. Mayor Sakaguchi Shigeru is calling for long-term support.

He says, "It will take a lot of time to rebuild lives and livelihoods. Medium- and long-term assistance is needed for labor, materials, equipment and funds. I'd like to ask people to offer support without being bound by precedents."

More than 43,000 houses, mainly in the Noto region, have been damaged. Over 42,000 households are still without running water in Ishikawa Prefecture.